A rescue team on the Spanish island of Tenerife has found human remains in the area where British teenager Jay Slater disappeared nearly a month ago and there is strong evidence they are his own, police said.
The Guardia Civil police said in a statement that his death may have been the result of a fall in the difficult-to-access mountain area, but an autopsy will determine whether it was an accident.
A police spokesman said the body was found on Monday morning by a Guardia Civil mountain rescue team.
The family has been notified and an autopsy will be performed shortly. The case will then be referred to a court in Tenerife to determine the cause of death, the spokesman said.
Slater, 19, disappeared on June 17 and his phone was last tracked to the Masca Gorge in a remote national park in the Canary Islands.
On June 30, Spanish police announced they had ended the search for Slater, which involved dozens of police officers, rescue workers and volunteers using dogs, drones and a helicopter.
However, on Monday it was said that Guardia Civil officers had carried out a “continuous and discreet search” in the area throughout the 29 days.
The family could not be immediately reached for comment.
The British charity for missing persons abroad, LBT Global, which has submitted several statements on behalf of the family, said in an email that the body found was “likely that of Jay Slater”.
The remains were found among Slater’s belongings and clothing and are believed to have been discovered near the last location of his cellphone, LBT Global said.
Slater’s mother Debbie said on July 13 that the family had arranged for a team of experts with special dogs to be flown in from the Netherlands over the weekend.
“Jay is just a normal, hard-working young man from Lancashire who is very much loved by all who know him,” she wrote in a statement, asking people to pray for him and his family.